The Briar and the Fox
by I.C.2014
Summary: Briar, Rosethorn and Evvy are going back to Discipline Cottage and a fox demon kidnaps Briar and makes him his slave. I got the idea from Yuyu Hakusho.
1. Chapter 1

Briar and the Fox

Summery: Briar, Rosethorn and Evvy (I don't know if I'm spelling it right) were going back to Discipline Cottage. On the journey back, they didn't know they were being followed by none other than the demon fox, Yoko Kurama. When Yoko sees Briar's plant magic at work, he decides to kidnap him and make Briar one of his slaves.

"When will we get to Discipline Rosethorn?" Briar asked. He used one hand to block the sun from his green eyes; the wind blew his curly black hair in his face. Briar was pushing a cart full of miniature plants.

"We'll be there in a day or so, now quiet," said Rose Thorn. She was a shorter, older woman. Rosethorn was Briar's teacher when he needed to understand and control his magical gift. Briar's sweat dropped. He stayed very quiet; he was very afraid of the woman's temper.

Out of nowhere, a stone hit Briar in the head. "Evvy!" Briar exclaimed. "Stop it or else I'll hang you upside down by your ankles!"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Rosethorn screamed. Briar glared at a girl, playfully. The girl was younger and shorter than him. Her black, straight hair was tied in a green bandana. She eyed Briar mischievously. All three of these people walked peacefully together, hoping to make it home before long.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't notice the pair of red eyes that were watching them from the nearest treetop. _'Well, well, well,'_ thought the stranger. _'That one will definitely make a good slave; I just need to get him alone and then I will strike.'_ The stranger's straight, long, white hair was being blown by the wind. The stranger had big plans for the young plant mage walking bellow him.

Briar looked over his shoulder, expecting to see something suspicious.

"Briar," Rosethorn called. "Is something wrong?" _'He's been doing this for a lot lately. Ever since we started walking…'_

"It's… nothing. I'm fine," Briar said. _'At least I __hope__ it's nothing.'_

Rosethorn flashed Briar a look of disbelief, "Then stop doing that; you're making me nervous."

Evvy watched the whole exchange. She knew that Briar was lying; she saw the frightened look in his eyes. But she didn't say anything. _'It's almost like… something's following us,'_ Evvy thought. _'Maybe someone's trying to rub us.'_

They stayed silent. It was getting dark and once the sun leaves the sky completely, they wouldn't be able to keep walking.

"Let's make camp," Rosethorn said. "Then we'll continue walking in the morning."

They made camp. Briar made a fire. They ate their meal and when they were done they went to the tents; Rosethorn and Evvy in one tent and Briar in another.

The stranger was still watching them. _'Now what a perfect opportunity,'_ the stranger thought. _'I'd be an idiot not to take it.'_ The stranger jumped off of the tree and walked into the camp. He stopped once he was in front of Briar's tent. The stranger crawled into the tent and looked in Briar's sleeping face. _'This boy has such a beautiful power. And I'm about to put it too good use.'_ He carried Briar out of the tent and disappeared into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

NOTES: Here are notes to understand what might be going on.

"Blah" = talking

_'Blah' = thinking and talking with magic_

**Note:** Hey this is Ima, I'm sorry all the people who like this story. I'm sorry that this next chapter has taken as long as it did to write, but here it is. Enjoy.

Briar woke up from his very painful slumber. His body hurt so bad he could barely move and there was an annoying 'drip drop' sound that wouldn't go away. For some reason, when he woke up, he couldn't even see Rosethorn and Evvy. All he saw were stone walls ad bars, that made Briar's eyes widen in comprehension. _'Why are there bars?_ Am I in prison?'Briar asked himself. _'This is bad. Where are Rosethorn and Evvy? Are they alright?'_

"Your friends are fine," an enigmatic voice said. "The one you should be worrying about is yourself." After that, Briar looked up and saw a man with long, white hair and blood red eyes. The strange man was wearing a strange outfit that barely covered his body and he was standing right in front of Briar's cell.

"Who are you?" Briar asked. Briar tried to get up and move towards the stranger but the chains that were holding him made it impossible to go anywhere. _'Chains too?" Why am I just noticing this now?' _Briar thought in disgust.

"It's because you humans tend to overlook the important details," answered the man. Briar threw him a glare that usually would've made people too scared to be in the same room with him, but this man's own stare never faltered.

"Did you read my mind?" asked Briar. He sat back down on the floor.

"Yes I did," the man answered. "Humans are very easy to read."

"Why do you keep saying 'human' like that? Aren't you a human?" asked Briar. "Where am I? Why am I here? Where are my friends?"

The whiter haired man chuckled in amusement. "My, my aren't you an inquisitive one? Alright. I'll answer your questions. I am not a foolish human, like you. I am a fox demon. Your friends aren't even here," the man said. "As for where you are, it is in the dungeons of my castle. You are now my slave, whether you like it or not."

Briar looked at the man in defiance. "I'm no one's slave!" Briar yelled. "Now let go of me or else."

"Or else what?" the demon asked with malicious in his voice. " You'll use your magic against me? You can try if you'd like but I'll tell you right now that it's not strong enough to stop me, human." The demon opened the door of Briar's cell and walked in until he was looming over his prisoner. He took Briar's chains in his hand and yanked them up, causing Briar to be pulled up to his feet. Briar groaned in pain.

The supernatural being's countenance was inscrutable when he put his lips next to Briar's ear. "I don't really care what you think," he spat, "you belong to me whether you like it or not."

"And if I refuse to go along with this?" Briar boldly asked.

"You have audacity to speak to me that way? I'm going to have to break spirit of yours soon." After that the man dropped Briar's chains and left the cell. Before he left the dungeon, Briar stopped him.

"Wait a minute!" Briar called. "I still don't know your name."

The fox turned around and gave Briar one last, uninterested glance. "My name? Humans have given me many names." The fox answered. "My real name is Fey. But you will call me master." Fey, the demon fox, locked the door of Briar's cell and prison, leaving Briar to himself.

Briar continued to glare at the spot outside his cell, where Fey had stood earlier. _'I'm not going to be your slave Fey!'_ Briar assiduously thought. _'Never will that happen. And I __**will**__ get out of this place!'_ Briar turned his gaze to the ceiling. "If Rosethorn and Evvy aren't here then I wonder where they are?" Briar asked out loud.

"Evvy wake up," said said Rosethorn. The short woman was shaking the little girl awake. Evvy began to rub the sleep out of her eyes as she opened them to look at Rosethorn.

"Is it time to leave already?" Evvy asked tiredly. She looked at Rosethorn's worried countenance and she immediately became wide awake and alert. "Is something wrong?" asked Evvy.

"Have you seen Briar?" Rosethorn asked. "It's now midday and I haven't been about to find him anywhere."

Evvy shook her head. "No I haven't seen him," Evvy answered. "The last time I saw him was last night."

Rosethorn let out a long sigh. "It's not like him to disappear for this long. We have to find him if we still plan on going to Discipline cottage."

Evvy stood up and started stretching her tired body. "How are we going to find him though?" asked Evvy.

"We can use magic to communicate with the nearby plants and rocks," Rosethorn explained. "Hopefully they'll know if something happened to him."

"Okay then I'll talk to the rocks." Evvy laid back down and closed her eyes. She inhaled and exhale, clearing her mind with every breath she took. The magic responded while she meditated., the energy flowed out of her body and touched every pebble and stone near her, gripping their attention and awakening them.

_'What do you want?' _asked a drowsy, gravely voice of a nearby boulder.

_'I''m sorry to disturb you,'_ Evvy said, _'but I need to ask you something.'_

_'Then ask already,'_ muttered the annoyed voice of a rock.

_'A friend of mine was staying in camp with me and another woman,_ Evvy said, as if she didn't hear the rocks complaints. _'But he disappeared. I was wondering... if you might know something about it.'_

_'Wait... was it the bigger one that was here?'_ asked a pebble.

Evvy nodded her head._ 'Yes. No can you please tell me what happened to him?'_ Evvy asked in exasperation.

_'I... think someone took him away,' _answered the boulder. _'The being of the forest.'_

Evvy raised one black eyebrow. _'The being of the forest?'_

_'Yes.' _The pebble explained,_ 'There is someone who lives nearby. The being moves like a human but he is not one.'_

_'What do you mean he isn't one?'_ Evvy asked._ 'Then how do you know he is one?'_

_'We do not know what he is,'_ barked the pebble in irritation. _'He walks like a human but he isn't one.'_

_'But how do you know that?'_ Evvy asked with equal amount of irritation in his voice.

_'Simple you stupid human,'_ the pebble yelled indignantly. _'He's more powerful than any human should be. He's more attune with nature. It's almost as if this being is one of us. He is a being of the forest. Now leave us alone!'_

_'Wait! I'm sorry. Please don't go!'_ Evvy pleaded, but it was too late; the connection was broken and there was no getting it back today. When Evvy opened her eyes she had returned to the camp.

Rosethorn was sitting next to Evvy's prone body, calmly waiting for the stone mage to waked up. When Evvy finally opened her eyes, Rosethorn fixed her hope filled eyes on her. "Did you find any new information?"

Evvy nodded her head and moved her body into a sitting position. "Briar could've been taken away by this strange thing known as 'The being of the forest'. Apparently, someone or something moves within this forest. The stones and pebbles say that this being looks like a human, but he's more attune with nature, like he belongs here."

Rosethorn held her chin with her hand in thought. "The plants have told me something like that as well," Rosethorn said out loud. "I think that I have an idea of what this "being" could be."

"Really? Could it be another mage?" Evvy asked.

Rosethorn shook her head. "No, not another mage," Rosethorn answered. "If it was another mage then both the plants and the stones would've still recognized this person as one."

"Then what else could it be? I'm running out of ideas."

"Alright then listen up because I'm only going to say this once." Rosethorn released a sigh and then said: "When I was younger, my mother once told me stories about supernatural creatures that disguised themselves as human so that they could blend in with us when they visited different towns and villages. Other times, when they were alone by themselves or with their own kind they would change into their true forms. These creatures were given different names within the centuries, but the most common name was demon."

Evvy sat still, silent for a few moments. Her eyes widened in disbelief. _'What? Has Rosethorn lost her mind?'_ Instead of saying that, Evvy asked: "Are you saying that Briar was taken away by a demon? You really believe that?"

"Yes I do believe that, so don't you dare look at me like that. If mages who wield magic can exist I don't see how it could be impossible for demons to exist," Rosethorn answered, "besides it's the only explanation I can come up with after listening to what the plants have told me. According to the legends, demons are more in attuned to"

"But why would a demon take Briar? What could a demon possibly want with him?"

"There are stories about demons who take only humans so that they can use them as meals or servants. I think that a demon took Briar for the latter reason because if all the demon wanted was a meal then why not take us as well?"

"True but how is all of this going to help Briar?" Evvy asked. "Even if we know _WHAT_ took Briar, we still don't know _WHERE _Briar is."

"We may not know where Briar is but there are other mages what will know. We have to return to Discipline Cottage like we originally planned and hope that Tris, Daja or Sandry have returned there. They are connected to Briar so threw their connection, they will know where he is."

"So off to Discipline we go," Evvy remarked. She and Rosthorn stood up from the ground and began to pack up their tents and belongings. They were beginning their journey to Discipline Cottage.


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE: Hello fans, sorry that it has taken me this long to update on this story. It's just been really hard trying to come up with something to add to this, but now I'm ready to continue. Enjoy =).**

Briar sat in the dungeon, unmoving after Fey had left him there. _'__I__ just need to bide my time,' _Briar thought calmly to himself. _'__As __long __as __I __don__'__t __think __about __escaping __at __all, __he __won__'__t __be __able __to __read __it __in __my __mind __and __even __if __I __don__'__t __escape __on __my __own, __my __sisters __will __come __for __me.__' _Briar thought back on his mage sisters who thought not his sisters by blood, became his sisters by connection through magic. He thought about Sandy, then Daja and then lastly, Tris, wondering where they were now, and how they were doing. Thinking about their well being`, also made him think about Evvy and Rosethorn, He hoped that nothing happened to them and that Fey had not harmed them after kidnapping him. Briar didn't know what he would do if something happened to his student and his mentor because of him.

The door creaked as if opened. Briar turned towards it, falling into a defensive crouch. If it was Fey coming back, then he would be ready for him.

But it wasn't Fey.

Where Fey was tall, pale, and physically pleasing on the eye, this creature was short, green and hideous to look at. Briar backed away from the grotesque thing; moving farther away from the door and deeper inside of his prison.

"Get out your filthy human!" The ugly, little beast sneered. "My master will not be kept waiting, especially by a pitiful human."

Briar forgot his fear and immediately became angered. He ran towards the little creature and starting kicking it. "Shut your jab!"

The creature screamed in pain. "Seize him!" At that moment, two fully armored beings each grabbed a hold of one of Briar's arms, forcibly pulling him back.

Briar bit his lips to keep from screaming in pain. They had very powerful grips on each of his arms, causing the plant sorcerer to cry out in pain as they forced him to kneel.

The hideous, little imp picked itself up from the floor and angrily made its way over to the kneeling Briar. Not too long after that, a slap resounding throughout the dungeon; the sound powerful and all-consuming. The little monster turned to the others that were holding the captive before him. "Take him to the slave's quarters immediately!" It yelled before turning his back. "The master wants this human cleaned and completing the chores listed. No one keeps master waiting… especially some filthy human."

* * *

"How could this even happen?" Sandry yelled angrily, placing within the dimensions of Discipline Cottage. "And you both were with Briar, so why didn't you do anything to stop it?"

"Sandry!" Daja said, putting an on one of the other girl's shoulders. "This isn't their faults. They were asleep, and completely caught unawares."

Sandry turned to the other girl, "But they still could have done something to help Briar," she argued stubbornly.

"Done what exactly?" Tris, short for Trissandra asked angrily. Her spectacled eyes fell on Sandry; her disgust made obvious. "What could they have done to stop it? Obviously whoever did this had to be formidable or know exactly what to do to overpower Briar. And what exactly is passing blame going to accomplish exactly?"

Sandry looked embarrassed. Daja nodded in agreement. There was nothing that could be done about what has already passed. All they could do was try to find their foster brother.

"Now that you have finally realized how stupid this was," Tris said, getting up from her chair and walking towards her foster sisters. "I suggest we actually find Briar."

Sandry raised an eyebrow. "What do you suggest then?" she asked angrily, not really liking what she believed to be Tris' 'higher than thou' attitude.

"Only what we all should have done in the first place," Tris answered like it was obvious, "Use our magic to track Briar's."

Sandry and Daja exchanged looks. Of course; it was really so obvious. Tris, Daja, Sandry and Briar had connected each other with their magic. _'Why__hadn't__we__thought__about__it__earlier?_'_'_ Both girls asked themselves.

* * *

Briar was thrown unceremoniously into the slave's quarters before the door was finally slammed closed. Briar slowly got up, rub his now sore arms and knees. For now, the ugly little toad and his set of empty armor were gone for now, but he was not alone.

Briar stood in a circle of other mortal beings like him. Some were men and others were women; some were old with hair that was covered in gray while others were still able-bodied young people and their hair still retained their color. None of them spoke to Briar; in fact they went about their business like all of this was normal. Only one of them walked over to Briar.

A man with tanned skin and reddish brown hair. Briar thought that looked to be in his thirtieth year. Briar tensed, not really sure whether or not the man would be a foe.

The man, able to understand Briar's aggressive body language, held his hands up in surrender. "Relax," the man said. "I'm not your enemy here. We're all the same here." He held out one of his hands in greetings. "My name is Bron."

Briar relaxed and clasped Bron's outstretched hand in one of his own. "Briar."

Bron grinned. He looked in Briar's dirty appearance. "I assume that you didn't come quietly."

Briar smirked. "Then you assumed right."

Bron grinned in approval. "I assume that you are also a mage?"

Briar tensed again. "How did you know that?"

"Because that was why you were taken," Bron explained.

"Well I don't plan on staying," Briar spat. "Now what's going on here?"

Bron turned his back on Briar. "Follow me and I'll tell you." They both walked towards a wooden wardrobe that Bron quickly opened and pulled out a clean, gray outfit that he put on the bed. "Clean yourself up before putting this on. I'll tell you what's going on when your done changing."

* * *

All three girls stood together in the center, holding hands. Rosethorn, Evvy and Larkin watched as the three girls work their magic.

Tris and Daja released their energy and helped Sandry sew their trio of energy together. Sandry used their combined energy to connect their bigger strand to a smaller, green strand that led out of the house.

* * *

**Looks like the others have found a way to find Briar. Almost looks like this will end soon, but don't worry. I'm working on the next chapter and this won't end so easily. Enjoy!**


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